PT1-06-RabbitKillsLion Panchatantra Stories பஞ்சதந்திரம் pañca-tantiram , n. pañcan +. The Tamil version of Pañca-tantra consisting of five books, viz., mittira-pētam1, cukirl- lāpam2, canti-vikkirakam3, artta-nācam4, acampirēṭciya-kārittuvam5; (= மித்திரபேதம்1, சுகிர்ல்லாபம்2, சந்திவிக்கிரகம்3, அர்த்தநாசம்4, அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்துவம்5 ) என ஐம்பகுதியுடையதாய்த் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்க் கப்பட்ட நூல். 1. மித்திரபேதம் = mittira-pētam = Sowing discord among friends. 2. சுகிர்ல்லாபம் = cukir-l-lāpam = the acquisition of friends. 3. சந்திவிக்கிரகம் canti-vikkirakam = Associating with a foe with a view to ruin him. 4. அர்த்தநாசம் artta-nācam = Loss of wealth. 5. அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்துவம் a-campirēṭciya-kārittuvam , n. a-sam-prēkṣya-kāri-tva. Action without forethought. By Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

A lion in a dense forest hunted and killed animals more than it could eat. This mindless killing by the lion alarmed the animals in the forest and prompted them to go to the lion. The animals: O mighty lion! Greetings to your majesty. We allowance for your daily subsistence. But killing more than you can eat is irregular. One day, there will be no animals in the forest. We suggest a remedy: we will send one animal a day as food. The lion agreed to this arrangement. As promised, one animal came to the lion’s den to fulfill its daily quota. The plump and robust rabbit’s turn came. It said to itself: ''I would die anyway and what could I lose if I try to escape death, being the lion’s dinner. If I succeed, I will gain fame as the rescuer of the animals. I will escape death.'' The bold and the resourceful rabbit came past the lion’s dinner time. The lion became angry at the tardy rabbit. The lion: '' Hey you ill-bred rabbit! Even a rutted elephant never came late . Why did you come late? Could you have a possible reason for your tardiness? The Rabbit: ''Ayya! No place for your anger. I began my journey to your den allowancing for the travel time. Upon seeing a cruel lion on the way, I hid in a bush not to become its dinner. After the big bad lion went into its den, I came running to you as fast as I could. The lion: ''Is there a lion besides me in this forest? Take me to it.'' The rabbit took the lion and showed it an old ruined well. The lion looked at the well with water and sludge at the bottom. The clear water in the well clearly reflected the lion’s visage. Thinking it was the lion, the rabbit talked about, it took one long jump down the well and got mired in the slush and died. This story illustrates that by deception, one can vanquish anyone.